Andean Group - July 2026

BOLIVIA | Petrobras re-engages. On 8 July Bolivia’s hydrocarbons and energy minister, Marcelo Blanco, announced plans for collaboration with Brazil’s state oil company, Petrobras, which halted investments in Bolivia in 2006 following the nationalisation of the oil and gas sector under former president Evo Morales (2006-2019). Following a meeting with Petrobras’ president, Magda Chambriard, Blanco wrote on social media that “Petrobras is returning to Bolivia” and said that he and Chambriard had agreed “to launch technical negotiations and an open agenda that drives the development of our country”. Bolivia’s economy ministry said that the talks with Petrobras “pave the way for new projects, greater investment, and more opportunities for economic growth”. The following day, Blanco said that Petrobras will “collaborate with the restructuring” of Bolivia’s state oil company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), which President Rodrigo Paz has said needs serious reform.

ECUADOR | FDI rises. On 5 July Ecuador’s central bank (BCE) announced that foreign direct investment (FDI) totalled US$431.50m in the first quarter of 2026. This was up by 85% from US$232.36m in the same period last year. In quarterly terms, FDI was down by 1.65% from US$438.75m in Q4 2025. The main sources of FDI in Q1 2026 were Singapore (US$105.14m), Peru (US$101.58m), and Panama (US$45.30m). The largest share of FDI went to the trade sector (US$149.40m), followed by agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing (US$101.84m), and manufacturing (US$90.72m).

PERU | Growth in mining exports. On 1 July Peru’s mining and energy ministry (Minem) announced that mineral exports in the first quarter of 2026 totalled US$21.65bn, up 56.2% year-on-year. This, Minem said, was partly due to growing demand for minerals needed for the energy transition and for technological infrastructure. Mining exports accounted for 75.4% of Peru’s total exports during the first quarter of the year.

Andean countries: inflation rate
Percentage variation (year-on-year)

Andean countries: GDP growth (%)
Quarterly figures are year-on-year growth